“Is the Exchange ever coming back?”

This is the question posed to Orcas Recycling Services Director Pete Moe on a daily basis.

Standing on the grounds of a 35-acre property that could be the Exchange’s new home, Moe says the answer to that question is: “Yes, the Exchange is definitely coming back.”

It’s just a matter of when.

Nearly one year ago, Orcas Recycling Services took over the transfer station and also the responsibility for the Exchange, a reuse center where islanders could drop off and purchase various items. In February of 2013, just as ORS was in the process of looking at how they could take the helm, the Exchange burned down due to an accidental fire.

Now nearly two years after the fire, ORS staff and board members are hoping to have a new Exchange up by spring if they can secure the right piece of land.

The property in question is owned by a long-time island family and is located near the Old Trout Inn on Orcas Road. The land already has a building that could house the Exchange permanently.

If they rebuild the Exchange at the transfer station it will be owned by the county. But if it’s located somewhere else then ORS should own the facility.  The property could also be used for other ORS services like composting and mulching.

Not having the Exchange at the dump would also free up more room for islanders to sort recycles rather than dumping everything together.

“The critical part of what we do is to get to zero waste,” said ORS Board President Tim Blanchard.

Buying land may also be the fast track to having the Exchange back up and running. If ORS wanted to rebuild the Exchange at the dump, they are first required by the county to complete a road, which would not be started until the spring. ORS would have to build a new structure, making the reopening of the re-use center unknown.

Blanchard is optimistic that purchasing the 35 acres would allow ORS to have an Exchange functioning as soon as April.

Currently ORS is in the feasibility study portion of the process to make sure the new property will work. Feasibility included finances, renovations to the structure and operation funds to get started. Moe said that ORS is estimating a ballpark figure of a half a million dollars to acquire the property, make renovations, clean up, permitting and operating the Exchange.

Blanchard said he knows how important the Exchange is to the community and that is why ORS wants to accelerate the process.

“The Exchange was different things to different people. Some wanted to drop off stuff after cleaning houses others relied on the Exchange for basic material to operate their homes,” Blanchard said.

To get involved in fundraising, watch for dances at Random Howse.

To address questions regarding rebuilding the Exchange, ORS has scheduled a community Q&A on Sunday, Dec. 7 from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Eastsound Fire Station.